They’re Legal: Happy 21st Birthday MikeandOllie

A toast—to Isaac and Molly on their 21st birthday. It’s been a long, long road, and yet I remember every single second of that day … their birth day. I didn’t officially get to meet Molly until November 18, 1991. Shock tends to put you out of commission for a while. That, and a lot of drugs.

I’ll be posting more over on Two Kinds of People, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to wish Mike and Ollie a happy 21st here on the memoir blog. Their lives are true miracles, and having them in our lives has brought about many more miraculous events and feelings. I think it’s no coincidence that their birthday—November 17—is Prematurity Awareness Day.

To celebrate, I hope you’ll take a moment to learn a bit more about prematurity, it’s causes and what it takes to help preemies and their families. The March of Dimes is the flag bearer for preemies everywhere. If you are inclined to celebrate Isaac and Molly, or another preemie in your life, consider a donation to their Prematurity Campaign.

This week I was also reminded how many blood transfusions they underwent during their five-month hospital stay and Molly’s subsequent open-heart surgery. A donation of blood in their honor or in honor of another preemie could help save lives.

Happy birthday, Isaac and Molly. You may be adults now, but you’ll always be my babies. Thank you.

Look How We’ve Grown

The pictures in the banner at the top of this blog are Isaac shortly after birth (l), Ike and Molly in 2010 (c), and Molly shortly after birth (that's her dad's wedding ring dangling on her arm, just to put things in perspective).